Levi Coffin

Levi Coffin was a prominent abolitionist and member of the Underground Railroad in both Indiana and Ohio. Levi Coffin came from a Quaker family and was born on October 28, 1798 on a farm in New Garden, North Carolina to Levi and Prudence Coffin.[1] As the only son of seven children, Levi spent his childhood helping his family on the farm rather than attending school; his education came largely from his father, however it was sufficient for him to become a teacher later on. Coffin states in his book Reminiscences which was published in 1876, “Both my parents and grandparents were opposed to slavery, and none of either of the families ever owned slaves; and all were friends of the oppressed, so I claim that I inherited my anti-slavery principles.”[2] Growing up a Quaker, Levi Coffin possessed the Quaker belief that all human beings are equal, a belief he lived through his active role in abolition.

Although Coffin was raised as an abolitionist, there were several instances where he reaffirmed his abolitionist beliefs after witnessing the treatment of enslaved people in the American South. The first occurrence was when Coffin was just seven years old. In his book, Coffin recounts a time when he and his father came across a group of enslaved people walking by in chains. His father asked them why they were chained, and one man responded that “They have taken us away from our wives and children, and they chain us lest we should make our escape and go back to them.”[3] Coffin describes this situation as his awakening to the horrors of slavery and he affirmed the abolitionist views of his family. In 1821, Levi Coffin opened a Sunday school in his hometown of New Garden, and became a teacher for enslaved people in the area in an effort to teach them how to read. However, many slaves were forbidden from being educated by their owners. Coffin spent his entire life fighting for abolition.

Coffin moved to Indiana in 1826. The house he and his wife built in 1839 in Fountain City, Indiana (formerly Newport) became known as the “Grand Central Station of the Underground Railroad” because approximately 2,000 enslaved people were aided there in 20 years.[4] When he arrived in Indiana, Coffin opened a dry goods store in Newport. The store later grew to include manufacturing linseed oil and cutting pork. He was such a successful business man and his prominent role in the community led to his election to the director of the Richmond branch of the State Bank.[5] His prominence in the community and his thriving store helped to deflect attention from his role in the Underground Railroad. Coffin moved to Cincinnati, Ohio in 1847 and opened a wholesale warehouse, which also helped to fund his part in the Underground Railroad. The amazing thing about this warehouse is that he only sold goods that had been produced by free labor. Fast forward to the Civil War, where Coffin no longer only aided enslaved people through the Underground Railroad, but also, “served as a leading figure in Western Freedmen's Aid Society, which helped educate and provide in other ways for former slaves.”[6] In 1876, just a year before he died, Coffin wrote his book Reminiscences after his friends urged him to tell his story in the hopes of inspiring the next generation. He opens this book by framing his life’s work with these words: “What I had done I believed was simply a Christian duty and not for the purpose of being seen of men, or for notoriety, which I have never sought.”[7] Levi Coffin was a Quaker man who believed that everybody should be free and he made it his life’s mission to aid as many enslaved people as possible, despite the risk he faced.

During his lifetime, Levi Coffin experienced several changes both nationally and in Indiana. When Indiana was admitted as a state in 1816, the Indiana Constitution prohibited slavery, similar to the Northwest Ordinance which had formerly governed Indiana as a territory. Although slavery was banned per the Constitution, there were 32 enslaved people recorded living in Vincennes in an 1830 census.[8] Just one year after Coffin moved to Indiana, New York completed its process of abolition. This provided hope for Coffin and abolitionists across the country that abolition would in fact succeed nationally. The 1851 Indiana Constitution added Article 13, which prohibited freed blacks from living in Indiana. “Section 1. No negro or mulatto shall come into or settle in the State, after the adoption of this Constitution.”[9] Although this Constitution was adopted in 1851, 4 years after Coffin moved to Ohio, this attitude had existed in Indiana before the new constitution, and would have affected Levi Coffin and the Underground Railroad. This amendment illustrates the changing attitudes in Indiana towards the growing free black settlements, such as the Roberts settlement and Lyles Station, which developed their own schools and churches as they were excluded from white schools and churches.

Although slavery was abolished in Indiana, the anti-slavery and pro-slavery tensions in the nation resulted in prejudice against blacks, which culminated with Article 13 of the Indiana Constitution of 1851.[10] Article 13 was passed with tremendous support from the white people living in Indiana at the time, which included the Quaker populations in Indiana. Although many Quakers believed in abolition, that does not mean that they necessarily believed in equal rights. The Civil War and the 13th Amendment brought to fruition what the abolitionists, including Coffin, were fighting achieve. With the passage of the 13th Amendment in 1865, all enslaved people were legally free; this meant that the work of the abolitionists was accomplished, and Levi Coffin essentially retired and wrote about his experience.

The Levi Coffin House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.  In 2002, the  Indiana Historical Bureau and Levi Coffin House Association, Inc. installed a historical marker at the Levi Coffin House.

[1] Ray Boomhower, “Destination Indiana: Levi Coffin: President of the Underground Railroad,” Traces, Summer 1997, 14.
[2] Levi Coffin, Reminiscences (New York: Augustus M. Kelley, 1968), 11.
[3] Levi Coffin, Reminiscences (New York: Augustus M. Kelley, 1968), 13.
[4] “Levi Coffin.” National Park Service. last modified September 14, 2017. accessed March 3. 2019. https://www.nps.gov/people/levi-coffin.htm.
[5] Ray Boomhower, “Destination Indiana: Levi Coffin: President of the Underground Railroad,” Traces, Summer 1997, 15.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Levi Coffin, Reminiscences (New York: Augustus M. Kelley, 1968), i.
[8] l Finkelman. "Almost a Free State: The Indiana Constitution of 1816 and the Problem of Slavery." Indiana Magazine of History 111, no. 1 (2015): 64-95. doi:10.5378/indimagahist.111.1.0064.
[9] Charles Kettleborough and John A. Bremer, Constitution making in Indiana (Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau, 1961), 385.
[10] “Levi Coffin,” Indiana Historical Bureau, accessed April 3, 2019, https://www.in.gov/history/markers/437.htm.

Student Author: Jordan Girard
Faculty/Staff Editors: Dr. Ronald V. Morris, Dr. Kevin C. Nolan, and Christine Thompson
Graduate Assistant Researchers: Carrie Vachon and JB Bilbrey

PHOTO & VIDEO:
Levi Coffin, via wikicommons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Levi_coffin.JPG